Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Brent Solomon ~ Collab. Installation + Exhibition at Ri architecture school (world arch. history, Japanese arch., anthropology + arch., and structures yes, as an elective!) and abroad in Denmark (DISP) for a year. I got my official architecture degree in grad school at MIT, and while there also took some courses in urban design and landscape architecture at Harvard. Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Editorial & Tweet 19 Share 5 Like 73 Send Archinect Oct 3 '12 0 6 Follow Art House. (LA, 2010) Installation for showcasing art at fairs - in a house, its post-purchase context. Some of these watercolors have been featured in TV commercials. At what point in your life did you decide to pursue architecture? The first time I realized I wanted to study architecture was in second grade, when we drew a plan of our classroom in Romania. I remember I really liked making that neat measured plan and coding the door in green and the windows in light blue. At Freedom of Information Art Installation, Boston, 2012 (Photo by Greg Harris/ flash-bulb.com). Working out of the Box is a series of features presenting architects who have applied their architecture backgrounds to alternative career paths. Are you an architect working out of the box? Do you know of someone that has changed careers and has an interesting story to share? If you would like to suggest an (ex-)architect, please send us a message. Archinect: Where did you study architecture? Ioana Urma: In undergrad, at Cornell, while studying interior design, I took electives in the 1 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 2 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Editorial & Editorial & Landscapes & Personalities: What Do You See? (Hollywood, CA, 2009) Televised watercolor prints exhibit where viewers were asked to come up with names for the paintings (Photo by Sorin Constantin). Since I was good at math, it was my favorite subject by far, my family pushed me to study math or engineering. With math, I wondered what you can do other than teach, so I dismissed it completely, and engineering seemed boring as a job. I secretly liked to draw, but for fear of failure (and lowering my high school GPA) I avoided art classes which involved drawing and took photography and drafting instead which lead me to architecture. Office Space Interior & Paint Design. (Iridescent, Downtown LA, 2011) Art Interactive Gallery Facade/Signage/Landscape. (Cambridge, MA, 2004) Result of winning an international design competition. The black areas roll up so you can look inside. I applied to Cornell first for architecture, which was one of the top programs at the time (early 90s), but I had a crisis moment in the middle of my application and decided that the undergraduate program didn t offer enough electives in other fields and, coming out of an average US high school, I felt I needed a more well-rounded education, so I switched at the last minute and applied to the interior design program. By "switched", I mean I had to literally erase my whole application and type a new essay on top of the smudges. This sounds funny now, but in those days you only got one paper application to fill out. Later on, though, I actually wanted to become a psychiatrist, like my aunt, who I was very close to, and great-uncle. I thought studying (and helping) people (the mind) would be really interesting (it turns out that a little bit of that is necessary in architecture as well) - but I was afraid I was too sensitive and would be affected by the patients. 3 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 4 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Storybook Mural. (Kester Elementary School, Van Nuys, CA, 2009) Topic chosen by principal as I had proposed something on the local flora/fauna. Editorial & I thought I would switch to architecture while at Cornell if I wanted to, but the program not only was short on electives, it seemed like pure evil. There were horror stories of students getting their models ripped apart and original hand-drawings written on by mean professors; there was an overall air of great snobbishness surrounding the school; the department had all black furniture, and I had heard that they were not allowed to use colors in their projects. That just didn t seem inviting to me, particularly the ban on colors. Editorial & Laundry Peace. (All over the MIT Campus, MA, 1999) My first public art project didn t start out with the intention of being an art project but a war protest. I was just really mad. I had worked for a few architecture firms a few years before going to graduate school, so I was familiar with the office environment and how little creativity, how much drafting and management is present in real projects. Since I needed a job, and the prof. I had TA ed for at MIT wanted me to work for her (Maryann Thompson), I ended up there for a few years, and I learned a lot, but deep down, still felt it wasn t colorful or challenging my potential enough. In fact, I told her I wanted to quit from the first day I started! So crazy! Who does that to their boss?! But we were kind of friends, and she actually understood, being a very free and creative person herself. Life of Hummingbirds. (2011) One of seven bird illustrations for the educational phone app Build a Bird by Iridescent and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It has also been featured on TV in commercials + shows and several exhibits. Opera Roses in Industry. (Long Beach, CA, 2010) Proposal for sculptures that emit opera arias to obliterate the noisy lifelessness of the surroundings. When did you decide to stop pursuing architecture? Why? Right after graduating with an M.Arch, I knew that I didn t want to work in architecture. Either too much of it in school killed the passion or having been introduced to public art during grad school sparked that flame. I had also started painting my school models very carefully and colorfully and I noticed nobody else did that or cared much about colors... 5 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 6 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect people/voices involved; codes, site, budget and construction complications), and the huge life-safety and legal responsibilities you have. The low pay or bad deals architects make also lead to extremely long hours. It s a lot of work with very little creative input (particularly if you are not working for yourself/on your own projects). It s not balanced. Editorial & Editorial & Freedom of Information Art Installation. (Figment Art Festival, Boston, MA, 2012) Humorous commentary on our use and trust of the internet for learning, using the history of Boston as an example. Architecture is one of the last standing old-fashioned professions where you need to have a well-rounded knowledge of very many things (structures, codes, construction, budgets), but those things have grown gigantically in specificity in the last 50 years. I talked once at length with my dad about this who is a structural engineer, and he thought it would be better for architects to stick to doing the design, which they are trained for and interested in, but as hired by a project manager which could run the rest of it, particularly the budget aspect. Management is not most architects strength or interest. How Things Work Mural. (Iridescent Science Studios, Downtown LA, 2010) The educational mural collages most of the science and engineering topics taught by the non-profit (Photo by Benny Chan). I lingered this way as I tried teaching architecture studios at various colleges, having my own office/freelancing in Boston, moving into the more artistic LA environment to work on larger urban projects, until finally an opportunity arose where I could do something creative on my own for money: graphic design and illustration, and later, on paid art projects. This sounds like I hate architecture, but that is not true at all. I very much like designing spaces and structures. I even like drafting because you can put the headphones on and task away. And I definitely like the construction/detailing/craft part of it and collaborating with builders. The issue is the pay is too low to compensate for the difficulties and complications (very many 7 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 8 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Editorial & Editorial & Wrigley Village Street Banners. (Long Beach, CA, 2011) Public art commission involving community participation. Wrigley Village Murals. (Long Beach, CA, 2011) Public art commission for 3 utility boxes, based on community love of banner designs (above). Anyway, with more artistic (non-architecture) work, you might get paid less, possibly, but you are allowed more creativity and the life-safety responsibilities are much smaller, if present at all (2D design). Describe your current profession. To support that, I work as a freelance designer on a variety of commissions, from 2D to 3D: books, illustrations, interiors, art installations, paintings, murals, architectural renovations, exhibit designs... and ones I have the capability for but haven t yet tried: set designs, fabric designs, additions/ground up architecture projects, urban design. I have completed a number of (public) art projects murals, installations and other media and am constantly coming up with ideas and developing more. I would like to work as a full-time artist and creative director, but I am far from that goal. 9 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 10 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Most of the work that has come my way has been graphic design and illustration, and even more specifically, educational illustrations for science and engineering based topics. I actually really enjoy it because it involves research and analysis... and because it is mainly geared toward children, the colors and forms can be bold, free and friendly! Editorial & Editorial & Food Science Art featured in Top Chef Masters. ( Blinded Me With Science Episode, aired June 2010) They will also be featured in an upcoming Warehouse13 episode. I have done a couple interior design projects and helped out on some architecture projects, but, I started my own practice, leaving the architecture firm I was employed at, exactly before the recession hit in 2008. So it isn t like I have had the opportunity to turn an architecture project away! It s actually a miracle I have survived and developed a design business on my own in this climate. Children s Science Illustrations: The Process & the Result. Top: Exhibit on the process with the US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, NY Congressman Jose Serrano, and ONR Admiral Nevin P. Carr, at Iridescent-ONR Science Studios NYC (2010, Photo by John F. Williams). Bottom: Electricity T-shirt (2009). 11 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 12 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect to be careful about liability/legal responsibilities Editorial & Editorial & Beach Maze. (Proposal for Glow Festival in Santa Monica, CA, 2010) Do you have an interest in returning to architecture? Children s Science Studios Paint Design. (Iridescent, Downtown LA, 2011) Big geometries and bright colors to fit the use (children making things during short periods of time) and the complex ceiling/space context. What skills did you gain from architecture school, or working in the architecture industry, that have contributed to your success in your current career? Because, as I mentioned, you need to be so well rounded to practice architecture, there are so many useful ones, for many design fields overall, and particularly for building art installations: Yes, if I can stay on the more design side of the practice. One person can t really perform all the tasks required of an architect on a project. As I said, I haven t yet turned a project away... so if a project finds me, the more daring the better (the nicer the client, the better as well... it s really important to get along), then, sure, I d love to do it! It s got to be colorful and a little crazy/experimental though... idea-wise, not just formally. I would love to take the life is a theater approach. to think analytically (diagramming) to develop a concept, and stay consistent to it, from idea to something real to draw by hand and build/make things by hand (old school architecture) to understand the site and work within a context to design for people or with people in mind (not for myself) to work with a community group to think and design spatially (as in not an object but an experience) to understand how materials react, interact, stand up, bend, melt, can be assembled, float to manage a project, resolving a budget and sticking to deadlines to work on a team or lead a team to review and check on the work of consultants or submittals from craftspeople/builders 13 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM 14 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM
Working out of the Box: Ioana Urma Archinect Editorial & The Smallness of Man: Hill. (Mountain Restoration Trust, Calabasas, CA, 2010) One of several philosophical studies on the relationship between man and Nature. My architectural hero is Gaudí he was an artist, a craftsman and a technical innovator, and he loved colors. He was lucky to have had a fantastic client who was both intelligent and culturally educated, and, most importantly, gave him a lot of freedom, construction money, and trust. As my graduate thesis advisor, Hasan-Uddin Khan, used to tell me, To make great architecture you need not only a great architect, but also a great client. It s the marriage of the two that results in something of real value. Gaudí also worked really well with the builders/craftsmen, directly, without a lot of paperwork but with good face to face communication. That is hard to do today because of our litigious society, but I think we should try to try to find a way back to it. My life hero, as you may have guessed, is Pippi Longstocking. Learn more about Ioana Urma at ioanacolor.com. Tagged working out of the box, art, mural, painting, illustration, color No Comments Back to Top Back to List... 15 of 15 11/20/2012 7:54 PM